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Study Finds High-Fructose Corn Syrup Contains Mercury
HealthDay News ^ | 26 Jan 2009 | HealthDay News

Posted on 01/28/2009 8:01:36 AM PST by BGHater

Almost half of tested samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contained mercury, which was also found in nearly a third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first- or second-highest labeled ingredient, according to two new U.S. studies.

HFCS has replaced sugar as the sweetener in many beverages and foods such as breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts, soups and condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons per day of HFCS, but teens and other high consumers can take in 80 percent more HFCS than average.

"Mercury is toxic in all its forms. Given how much high-fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply," said the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's Dr. David Wallinga, a co-author of both studies.

In the first study, researchers found detectable levels of mercury in nine of 20 samples of commercial HFCS. The study was published in current issue of Environmental Health.

In the second study, the agriculture group found that nearly one in three of 55 brand-name foods contained mercury. The chemical was most common in HFCS-containing dairy products, dressings and condiments.

The use of mercury-contaminated caustic soda in the production of HFCS is common. The contamination occurs when mercury cells are used to produce caustic soda.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Food; Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: food; health; highfructose; mercury; obamasfault; syrup
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To: free me

Last week I was in Dublin, Texas.

I bought a case of Dublin Dr. Pepper.

In the glass bottles.

Nothing tastes as good as an ice cold Dr. Pepper as you drink it right from the bottle.

Withought HFCS.

Read more....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin_Dr_Pepper


21 posted on 01/28/2009 8:38:49 AM PST by Responsibility2nd
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To: Bob
I'd bet that, if they could make the tests more sensitive, they'd be able to detect it in all of them. Detectable is a meaningless term based solely on the sophistication of the testing methods used. It does work well as a scare tactic, though.

Exactly. If judging mercury alone, the title of this article should have been "Study Finds HFCS Safer than Tap Water."
22 posted on 01/28/2009 8:40:53 AM PST by mysterio
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To: Obadiah

Not in Europe! Not in Mexico!! HCFS was brought to you by the Department of Agriculture of the USA.


23 posted on 01/28/2009 8:44:04 AM PST by browniexyz
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To: Responsibility2nd

Thanks! I have to tell my brother about this. He loves DP but stopped drinking it because of the HFCS.


24 posted on 01/28/2009 8:51:42 AM PST by free me (Geez!)
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To: browniexyz

Yes, I know. HFCS was bought and paid for by a LOT of political donations.


25 posted on 01/28/2009 8:53:00 AM PST by Obadiah (The orgasm has replaced the cross as the focus of longing and fulfillment.)
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To: raybbr
Yes, but mercury is not flushed from the system. Eating it every day will accumulate.

Right. So after drinking 66 gallons of corn syrup, you'll have accumulated the same amount of mercury as from drinking one gallon of tap water. All carnivores are big accumulators of mercury. The best bet is to only eat young herbivores and drink scotch.

26 posted on 01/28/2009 8:55:52 AM PST by SampleMan (Community Organizer: What liberals do when they run out of college, before they run out of Marxism.)
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To: BGHater

Well, let’s use sugar cane for dietary needs and ‘field’ corn for biofuels ...
and sweet corn for the table ...
oops, wait a minute ... something’s not right

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fortune/0804/gallery.green_biofuels.fortune/3.html
The pros and cons of biofuels

My dad had a cool Mercury back in ‘56 ;o)


27 posted on 01/28/2009 8:57:27 AM PST by Liberty Valance (Keep a simple manner for a happy life ;o)
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To: BGHater
although this article strikes me as alarmist, i will say that HFCS is bad for your fitness.

i have tried to eliminate it from my diet. then i saw it was in my favorite brand of whole wheat bread! so now i have to buy weight watchers whole wheat pita!

(i am 6'3", 205 pounds. not fat at all)

28 posted on 01/28/2009 8:59:10 AM PST by thefactor (yes, as a matter of fact, i DID only read the excerpt)
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To: SampleMan
The best bet is to only eat young herbivores and drink scotch.

Not only is that the quote of the day, it is also sound advice. Kudos!

29 posted on 01/28/2009 9:07:30 AM PST by Starfleet Command
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To: albie

I’m right there with you, albie. I eat organic and there is not one product in my house that contains high fructose corn syrup.


30 posted on 01/28/2009 9:11:45 AM PST by My hearts in London - Everett (Remember the 3 Rs: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.)
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To: little jeremiah; nw_arizona_granny; Gabz; neverdem

No, I didn’t see this. Thanks for the ping.

And ping to others whose ping lists would be interested.


31 posted on 01/28/2009 9:18:30 AM PST by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: BGHater

You can find Coca-Cola made with cane sugar instead of corn syrup in stores that cater to Mexicans. It’s imported, from Mexico of course.


32 posted on 01/28/2009 9:28:25 AM PST by RegulatorCountry
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To: BGHater

Looks like this guy caught the train late, he may have a short ride; from a Wiki contributor:

“Mercury cell
Main article: Castner-Kellner process
In the mercury-cell process, also known as the Castner-Kellner process, a saturated brine solution floats on top of the cathode which is a thin layer of mercury. Chlorine is produced at the anode, and sodium is produced at the cathode where it forms a sodium-mercury amalgam with the mercury. The amalgam is continuously drawn out of the cell and reacted with water which decomposes the amalgam into sodium hydroxide and mercury. The mercury is recycled into the electrolytic cell. Mercury cells are being phased out due to concerns about mercury poisoning from mercury cell pollution such as occurred in Canada (see Ontario Minamata disease) and Japan (see Minamata disease).”


33 posted on 01/28/2009 9:31:20 AM PST by Old Professer (The critic writes with rapier pen, dips it twice, then writes again.)
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To: browniexyz
"HCFS was brought to you by the Department of Agriculture of the USA."

How so? Did the DOA issue guidelines requiring HFCS in food products? Or did manufacturers find HFCS cheaper and more readily available than sugar and/or other sweeteners?

34 posted on 01/28/2009 9:38:32 AM PST by JustaDumbBlonde (America: Home of the Free Because of the Brave)
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To: JustaDumbBlonde
I don't think DOA (wow, talk about bad initials for a government agency) was the moving force. Archer-Daniels Midland slathers a lot of congressional pockets to keep tariffs high on cane sugar, though. I'm not up on the actual dynamics, but the tariffs for cane sugar used in food manufacturing are what made Coke and most other soft drink manufacturers go to corn syrup. You can buy Dr. Pepper with cane sugar, but it costs about twice as much and is only available in select areas fairly close to Dublin, TX.

It's also the reason Hershey has moved some of their manufacturing plants to Mexico. It's not the production costs that are cheaper, it's the fact that if they import the sugar and make the chocolate in the US, the sugar costs much more than if they manufacture the bar in Mexico and import it to the US. The tariff specifically affects sugar imported for manufacturing of food products, not entire food products.

35 posted on 01/28/2009 9:45:53 AM PST by Richard Kimball (We're all criminals. They just haven't figured out what some of us have done yet.)
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To: albie

I like to grow my own food, and I also like to purchase meat, dairy, and produce from local farmers; I feel like I am putting money back into the community, and it tastes much better too.


36 posted on 01/28/2009 10:24:01 AM PST by FRGOPPER
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To: dangus

Ever see how much catsup the average teen eats? ;)


37 posted on 01/28/2009 10:52:41 AM PST by brytlea (You can fool enough of the people enough of the time.)
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To: JustaDumbBlonde

Manufacturers found it cheaper and the DOA and FDA didn’t find anything wrong with it, even though other countries have it on the ban list!


38 posted on 01/28/2009 12:03:56 PM PST by browniexyz
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To: SampleMan

I like your idea the best!


39 posted on 01/28/2009 12:05:24 PM PST by browniexyz
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To: SampleMan

The veal and scotch diet, expensive, but darn well worth it.


40 posted on 01/28/2009 12:12:29 PM PST by razorboy
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